


10 points

by VoidofLight



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: + another two (2) swear words, Alternate Universe - Hope's Peak Academy (Dangan Ronpa), Angst, Crack, Hanahaki Disease, M/M, Misunderstandings, Not Actually Unrequited Love, Oma Kokichi-centric, The Author Regrets Nothing, Unrequited Love, but only slightly - Freeform, but that's fine cus kokichi was an interesting write anyways, in all honestly all the characters except kokichi are pretty minor in this, is anyone ACTUALLY over shuichi's eyelashes though, no honorifics because I'm a wimp, now with a new Afterwords chapter!, there are two (2) swear words
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-26
Updated: 2020-07-29
Packaged: 2021-03-05 21:55:04
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,742
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25522456
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VoidofLight/pseuds/VoidofLight
Summary: And getting friendzoned feelsso muchworsewhen it’s by a flower you vomited up at 2am on a Wednesday when trying to recall what was discussed in class the other day while you were too busy looking athimand hisgoddamn princess eyelashesto focus.Or, in which Kokichi has hanahaki, Kaito is a bro, and Shuichi is trying not neccesarily his best but something kind of like it maybe.
Relationships: Momota Kaito & Saihara Shuichi, Oma Kokichi/Saihara Shuichi
Comments: 23
Kudos: 231





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact: i wrote all the sections in plain text literal months ago, let it sit in my drive, came back to it yesterday and edited it a bit, and wrote all the sections in italics in 1-4 binge writing sessions that same day to give all the same-text-style sections similar vibes (the plain text sections having a slightly cracky approach to whatever events happen during them and the italicized sections having a slightly melancholy approach to its contents) [quick question, did it work?]
> 
> Enjoy!

Like other stories depicting tragedy of the same degree and romance fueled by similar passion, the sun shone brightly on Hope's Peak academy as dozens of students were packing their bags to leave. Just another day, they say. The same amount of chaos and calamity brought to the table as usually is in a school filled with ultimates.

"Shumai~! Wait up!"

The youngest Ultimate Detective didn't falter, having already gotten used to the eccentric antics of his most ambitious classmate. Allowing the purple-haired midget to skip his way towards him, Shuichi tipped the brim of his hat down in lieu of a greeting.

"What is it this time?"

"Gasp, Shumai! I gift you with my _esteemed_ company as you make the _perilous_ journey back to the _dreadful_ dorms and you assume _I_ want something?!"

"I was going to stop at my lab on the way, but yes; often times when you join me it's to have me 'undergo a dangerous quest' or 'solve a daunting puzzle' with and/or for you."

"It seems as though my beloved has gained an exceptional understanding of my actions, along with just the teeniest tiniest little bit of my true power, the Ultimate _Snark_ nishishishi! What's next? Will my beloved figure out the location of my secret headquarters? The identities of all 10,000 members of my organization? The exact time I _shower_? My beloved could be stalking me for all I know! Buutttt that's a lie! A supreme leader of evil such as myself knows _everything_ about you, Shumai! Couldn't stalk me even if you tried~!"

"And?"

"And? _And?!_ Why, it seems my beloved still thinks something's up! And he's not wrong! Hooray! Ahhhh, my beloved's so smart! Let's play a game, Shumai~!"

"A... game?"

"Yup! A super-duper-fun-never-before-done-extravagant game with your favorite person ever, Shumai!"

"Kaito?"

"No, idiot - _mee~!_ "

Shuichi sighed, "What's the game?"

"It's simple, really! Don't talk to me," Kokichi stated, going completely blank-faced at the end.

"... wha-"

"Ah-ah! Shumai just lost! Aww, and I was having _soo much fun_ thinking of all the _amazing_ things I could do to him for winning my game! But that's okay! Cause as the ultimate supreme leader of _evil,_ I can be picky-choosy with my subordinates! So Shumai gets another shot! _Ready~_? Go!"

Still not fully understanding what Kokichi's true intentions were, Shuichi cautiously opened the notes app on his phone and began typing.

_> Is this fine?_

"Nishishishi~! Now you're getting it! 10 points to me for being such a good leader!"

_> But I still don't get it._

"What's there _not_ to get Shumai?"

_> Why do you want to play this? And what even are the rules?_

"Silly Shumai! Do I _have_ to have a reason, my beloved?"

_> I guess not._

" _Guess_?! My beloved you offend me! Welp, guess I gotta go then! I have to get away from such a source of _shame_ before the paparazzi catch me!" Kokichi said, before sprinting away. A few moments later, Shuichi noticed a note tucked into his pocket.

**> First to 100 wins! <3**

And so, the game began (with Shuichi still not _100%_ clear on the rules, but it began nonetheless).

\---

_It was almost boring how easy it would be to completely and utterly_ destroy _the Ultimate Pianist's talent lab. Just slipping a wad or 7 of chewed gum between each key on the piano and it becomes absolutely_ unplayable _! And all those_ lame _CDs on the shelves could so easily be stacked up nice and high and kicked right out the window!_

_Of course, Kokichi Ouma was a fair and just leader, so he did none of that. And his actions were in_ no way _affected by how a certain hat-wearing emo asked him so pitifully not to when he mentioned such plans in casual conversation. He just didn't want to waste his precious limited edition grape Panta flavored gum on such a menial prank, that's all._

_(Honestly, who gave his eyes the_ right _to shine so adorably from under such an emo hat. Kokichi promises he_ just _wants to_ talk. _)_

\---

About 5 minutes later and 530 feet away, Kokichi Ouma could be found vomiting his lungs out into a bush. No one else was around, seeing as the location itself was quite a ways away from the other buildings on campus. An isolated area where Kokichi could gaze upon the bright pink bundle of petals and blood as he pondered his next move.

The first time he'd coughed up the now-familiar combination of coral rose petals and circulatory fluid, Kokichi had initially been surprised. He knew about his infatuation with the broody detective, just not that it had evolved to the point of hanahaki. A disease not many ever contracted, but one infamous to the friends and families of afflicted patients. The unrequited love belonging to the patient manifests itself in the form of flowers expressing how the recipient of the patient's love feels for the patient.

Once the shock had passed, however, Kokichi had allowed himself to feel a _slimmer_ of hope. The flower he'd coughed up was a rose, some shade of red that he couldn't quite see clearly in the dim light of his dorm. It's a knowledge deeply ingrained into many that roses are flowers of romance, passion, and just _love_ in general. But as quickly as that hope came, it disappeared once more with a single Google search. Because a coral rose symbolizes a strong feeling of companionship, of _friendship_. And getting friendzoned feels _so much **worse**_ when it's by a flower you vomited up at 2am on a Wednesday when trying to recall what was discussed in class the other day while you were too busy looking at _him_ and his _goddamn princess eyelashes_ to focus.

It was a problem Kokichi didn't know how to tackle. He couldn't leave the school (he _had_ to graduate for DICE, being a Hope's Peak alumni could get you _pretty far_ in the world) but he had to distance himself from his beloved (or else the disease would get worse). Getting the life-saving surgery wasn't much of an option either, seeing as it'd be awfully suspicious if Kokichi came into class one day and had no idea who the detective was (all memory of his beloved eradicated from his mind and tossed into the void of some surgeon's trash can with the tangled roots of _whatever's_ in his lungs). And Shuichi was no idiot, he wouldn't go falling for the most widely disliked student of their year (taking seducing the boy off the table because of a certain certified _Chad_ who starts with a " _K_ " and ends with an " _aito_ " that shall not be named). For now, Kokichi just had to buy himself some time to think. And so, he initiated the game.

By keeping Shuichi from talking to him, it limited the number of interactions Kokichi would have with his beloved. For every action Kokichi does for Shuichi, Kokichi gets 10 points; and for every message Shuichi can get to Kokichi, Shuichi gets 10 points. A simple game for Kokichi to flop if he ignored his beloved for long enough, and with their graduation being just weeks away, along with the stress of exams on their minds, Kokichi _dared_ to hope it would be long enough.

\---

_The sun had never liked Kokichi Ouma, and it sure as hell wouldn't start liking him now. Being as pale as you'd expect a child who went into his closet and never quite left it for about 16 years to be, it's no wonder that Kokichi detests the sun for all the burns it decides to give him. Nevertheless, he still laid down on the ground of Hope's Peak Academy's most illustrious walkway and lamented his oh-so-many woes (most of which tying back to a certain Ultimate Detective and how_ unfairly _attractive he was)._

_Kokichi doesn't remember falling in - or even_ being _in love with Shuichi Saihara. Some days, he feels as though he doesn't even remember Shuichi Saihara at all. It's weird, because in his mind his generation's Ultimate Detective isn't always regarded as a person; instead, he manifests in Kokichi's mind as soft eyelashes, lingering touches, sensations of warmth, long eyelashes, silent desperation, sincere smiles, shiny eyes, the feeling of a stolen heart in his hands that he can never quite get himself to want to return, gorgeous eyelashes, gentle glances, luxurious eyelashes, enchanting eyelashes, beautiful eyelashes, and those_ goddamn eyelashes that he can't get off his mind **even if he tries**.

_Sometimes he gets so lost in thought dreaming of such lovely eyelashes, he hallucinates them looking worriedly down on him along with the rest of the face attached to them. Oh wait, that's actually Shuichi Saihara who's been talking to him for the past 2 minutes. Whoops._

_"-an't honestly tell whether or not you're trying to mess with me right now but if you are it's working so can you stop?"_

_"Hhmm? Nishishishi why stop when I'm having so much fun, my beloved!"_

_"B-beloved?!"_

_"Yep~! In my most esteemed mind, there's no one more beloved to me than my beloved Mr. Emo Hat~!"_

_"Oh-uh t-thanks?"_

_"You're welcome!"_

_For a solid minute and 14 seconds, the 2 stared at each other. Kokichi laying on freshly paved bricks graciously paid for by the Hope's Peak staff after the last "Robot Emu War" destroyed the path that laid there previously, and Shuichi standing above him wondering whether or not to tell him that the paint on those bricks had yet to dry._

_"You do know that paint on those bricks is still fresh... right?"_

_"Of_ course _I do my beloved. How rude of you to think so lowly of your own supreme leader to believe I wouldn't notice something so obvious! For that, I'll have to steal your eyelashes!"_

_"Why my eyelashes?"_

_"Because they're your most valuable asset, of course!"_

_"A-are they really? I'd think the most valuable part of me for you to steal would be my brain or heart. Taking either of those would make it easy for you to control me..."_

_"Silly Shumai! I_ already _stole your heart_ months _ago!"_

_"E-_ eh?! _Y-you_ did _?!" Shuichi sputtered, looking slightly alarmed._

_"You're telling me you don't remember, my beloved! After the harsh and furious battle we fought that day, and the fatal wound I sustained_ by my own hand, on my own hand _in order to save_ your _life, you have the_ gall _to forget about my most grandiose claiming of your own heart?!"_

_"Oh, you mean when you played the knife game," Shuichi sighed, relieved._

_"Hmph, at least you seem to remember it now."_

_"Ah, sorry for forgetting?"_

_"Apology accepted. Though, now you'll have to pay the penalty fine for disappointing your leader!"_

_"And what would that be?"_

_Kokichi smirked, looking as though the devil himself just applied to be his slipper warmer, "Why, your_ life _of course!"_

_"C-could I bargain for any... other form of payment?"_

_"Well, if it's my beloved asking, then I guess we could! Ok, instead of your life, how about you give me_ allll _of your_ attention _instead!"_

_"That's asking for a bit too much... I need my attention to study and solve cases after all."_

_"It's either that or_ die _my beloved~. And killing you won't be any hard for me seeing as I have your heart! Just a nice tight squeeze and you'll be no more nishishi! Of course, there's the_ possibility _that if you give me enough of your attention, I'll let your precious heart go!"_

_"Are you trying to ransom my heart back to me for my attention?"_

_"I don't know my beloved,_ am I? _"_

_"Ok then Kokichi. But can I ask, why my attention?"_

_"Because the only thing we know that separates the consciousness for being considered either 'alive' or 'dead' , is that those who are 'alive' are able to focus their attention on things in the 'living' world. And so, if I own_ allll _of your attention, I can own your life_ without _your death! It'll be like I'm your reason for living my beloved~!"_

_"... are you really going to keep up the 'my beloved' thing?"_

_"Got any problem with that,_ my beloved? _"_

_Shuichi smiled in a way that guaranteed Kokichi wouldn't be able to sleep soundly in the foreseeable future, "I don't think I do..."_

_(Hours later, long after those magnificent eyelashes and the person they belong to left Kokichi alone on the pathway; he sits up and looks down at the him-shaped outline where he knows the light reddish-brownish-pinkish paint attached to his back came from. And despite himself, he ends up keeled over laughing at the thought that the paint could be worn as blood dried from the hole where his heart was stolen away by the likes of Shuichi Saihara. Karma, he guesses.)_

\---

At first, Shuichi didn't know _what_ to do in regards to Kokichi's game. That could be _clearly_ seen whenever he paused halfway through attempting to ask Kokichi a question and looking like a lost puppy in a candy store as he thought about whether he _should_ be asking Kokichi anything. By the time someone got to him, Kokichi would have already fled the scene, leaving Shuichi to explain why he'd been staring at the floor for the past 12 minutes with no evidence that Kokichi had ever been present in the first place (everyone still believed him, though). The cycle of thought, question, action, pause, confusion, explanation would continue on and on until someone outside of the pair stepped in. Unsurprisingly, this ended up being Kaito.

"What's gotcha so befuddled, sidekick?"

"Huh? Befuddled?"

"Yeah! Always lookin' all confused and spacing out all the time! That's not the way a honorable sidekick of Kaito Momota, Luminary of the Stars, should act!"

"Well, I'm still not quite sure about it just yet... but I think Kokichi has been avoiding me."

"Lucky you."

"Maki Roll! Don't go sayin' things like that! If Ouma's avoidance of him has got him down in the dumps then we gotta help him get outta it! My sidekicks should be supportive of each other!"

"... fine."

"Great! Now Shuichi, why do ya think Ouma's been avoidin' you?"

"Well, he generally seems to be more fidgety around me as of late, and the last time he acted like _that_ was after being called to the principal's office following the 'Donkey Clay Massacre' incident, which he himself was guilty of initiating. Taking into account the suddenness of his proposition of an incredibly vague 'game' and the resulting distance between us due to said game, I'd say he thinks one of us to guilty of some sort of crime. Although this may be completely and utterly wrong and you really shouldn't rely entirely on my deductions seeing as I'm not-"

"-Excellent deduction Shuichi! As to be expected of my sidekick, ain't that right Maki Roll?"

"Yeah. Good job, I guess..."

"Oh, uhm, thank you. But even if we know _why_ Kokichi is avoiding me, there isn't really much we can do to make him stop..."

"Hmm... the game ya got going on just means you can't talk to him, right Shuichi?"

"Huh? Yes, that is what Kokichi told me."

"But doesn't that mean you can still have _someone else_ talk to him for ya?"

"That's it!" Shuichi exclaimed, scribbling something onto his notepad before tearing out the page and handing it to Kaito.

"Would you mind-"

"-Say no more, Shuichi! You can count on Kaito Momota, Luminary of the Stars, to get your message delivered safe-and-sound! C'mon Maki Roll!"

Shuichi watched in mild amusement (and slight concern) as Kaito zoomed into the distance, a disgruntled Maki trailing behind him muttering "why do _I_ have to come" while still keeping pace with their resident space-enthusiast.

\---

_Sipping a nice, cold bottle of grape Panta with the world's most obnoxiously bright holographic purple bendy straw, Kokichi Ouma held back a sneer as he sat on the roof of the Hope's Peak Academy dormitory building at midnight and tried to focus on the Roomba-sized crater by the campus fountain instead of the disgustingly loud trio "training" in the courtyard. Really, why does his beloved hang out with those people?_

_The distance between the dormitory rooftop where Kokichi watched his beloved struggle to do push-ups with the self-proclaimed "Luminary of the Stars" sitting on his back folding paper cranes and where the actual thing was happening was far enough away for the shadows to completely shield Kokichi from the trio's view, but too far away for him to be able to hear what they were actually saying. And unluckily for him, his Ultimate Supreme Leader duties didn't cover mastering the art of lip-reading. So, there he sat, with his checkered-patterned blanket and bottle of grape Panta, looking out at the "training" trio as he convinced himself that no, this didn't count as stalking because he'd emailed the Ultimate Astronaut approximately 3 hours prior to warn him someone was going to be watching him that night (ignore that the plaque hanging above the dormitory's garbage shute proudly reads "Email? I traded my account password for some cheddar chips maybe... 4 years ago? -Momota Kaito, 13 February")._

_Something happened between them that Kokichi didn't quite understand, because in the span of a minute they'd gone from exercising together to Harukawa carrying a frightened Momota on her shoulder while simultaneously having a seemingly civil discussion with Shuichi, who was also folding paper cranes with the origami paper that Momota had dropped. No matter how many times he tried mentally rearranging his assessments of all 3 people interacting, he just couldn't understand why or how they maintained a decent friendship. Somehow Momota's needlessly aggressive approach to adversity worked to enhance Shuichi's prodigious sleuthing instincts rather than inhibit them; not to mention that neither of them are driven away from Harukawa because of her cold and ruthless demeanor. The unique aspects of each of them that, on paper, should only work to separate them from each other somehow happen to complement them all in real life. It was both intriguing and infuriating for Kokichi to attempt to decipher the nature of the trio's relationship; though, it is the strangest connections that appear to hold the strongest between people._

_Time passed around him, allowing Kokichi to continue his internal deliberation as life moved on ahead without him. And hour and a half and many trains of thought later, the 3 people moved out from the courtyard, arms full of origami paper cranes, chatting happily as they headed back to the dormitory. Getting ready to head back to his own room, Kokichi gathered his things and moved to the door; being just within earshot to hear the latter end of their conversation._

_"-ou going to wish for then, Kaito?"_

_"I'm gonna wish to be amongst the stars someday! Being a shining beacon in the sky for people of all walks of life to place their hopes upon... if people know me for being up there, protecting their hopes with all of the stars - even when I'm no longer down there with the rest of them - then that means I'd been able to leave behind a legacy truly worthy of Kaito Momota, Luminary of the Stars! Wouldn't that be something great?"_

_Maybe it was the fact that his Panta had been 2 days expired when he drank it, maybe it was the biting chill of the night weighing on his thoughts or the numerous plans for the many, many tomorrows constantly running through his head recently being exponentially enhanced to the point where he was almost afraid of them swallowing him whole; but in a decision made even less than once in a blue moon, Kokichi Ouma found himself approving of Kaito Momota._

\---

The first message was easy enough to deliver. After about an hour of searching, Maki was able to locate Kokichi in the middle of mixing together all the paint in Angie's talent lab. Once he was successfully cornered inside a nearby storage closet, Kaito was able to throw Shuichi's message at the gremlin; who read it in less than 5 seconds before running off with the parting words, "Tell Shumai he gets 10 points~!"

The second message wasn't _quite_ as easy to deliver. Poor, unsuspecting Kaito severely underestimated the lengths Kokichi was willing to go to avoid losing. By the time the Luminary of the Stars made it into the school's courtyard, the entire area was _very_ noticeably teeming with _many_ different "Kokichis". People of all ages, genders, and levels of "done-with-your-bullshit" could be counted in the crowd of people wearing dark purple wigs with downcast hairstyles and straightjacket-reminiscent outfits. It was nearly midnight when Kaito was able to break his way into Kokichi's dorm room and deliver the message to the little supreme leader. In his haste to _go to **sleep**_ , Kaito almost missed Kokichi's chime of "Another 10 points to my beloved~!" (Though he did brush off the faint smell of rotting flora and metal as just a figment of his imagination - because why in the world would _Kokichi_ buy _perfume?_ )

From there, the difficulty _skyrocketed_. No longer would it take mere _hours_ to get Shuichi's messages to their designated target; whole days would pass with the Luminary unable to get even a _glimpse_ of the Panta-loving midget. The message's journey from Shuichi's notepad to Kokichi's eyes would be paved with many difficulties for the unfortunate Luminary of the Stars. The Ultimate Supreme Leader would hack into the school's security cameras to avoid attending classes, move around the roof of the school as to not be stopped on the ground, and sleep _Atua-knows-where_ to make leaving the messages in his dorm room ineffective (and Kaito _knew_ , he checked in the morning _every single day_ just to see the dust Shuichi applied to the door's knob untouched).

It was only when Kokichi decided to show even the _tiniest_ slimmer of mercy that the notes could get anywhere. Odd clues such as seemingly arbitrary letters written onto the leader's desk with crayon and colored lights flickering over a poster of the English alphabet were able to provide Shuichi with enough information to uncover where and when Kokichi would be, along with what needed to be done for the notes to reach him.

The limits Kaito would go to in order to fulfill his duty to his sidekick bro knew no bounds; not even the midnight gopher hunts, paintball wars against coconuts, dramatically serenading Ryoma with a kazoo, making snowmen out of flour, performing ballets in high heels, dabbing _vigorously_ behind Kirigiri on a hoverboard for 24 hours straight ( _principal_ Kirigiri, mind you), making a human totem pole 53 strong, selling handmade Kiibo body pillows on Etsy, reenacting The Angry Birds Movie in real life but everyone was in a different color Big Bird cosplay (thank you Tsumugi, you're doing Atua's work, truly), scuba-diving in the cheapest Princess Ariel costume known to Walmart's gardening section, and eating a cherry-bomb pie couldn't deter the Luminary of the Stars from being the best bro to ever bro and deliver his sidekick's message (and all that was only to find out the location a treasure box buried _just_ off campus that Kokichi would check at 3am that Sunday good for sending him _1_ \- and _only 1_ \- message).

Luckily for the sanity of - well - _everyone_ , by the time Shuichi was on his tenth message, it was the day of graduation; and Kokichi was sitting _exactly_ where he was supposed to be for the ceremony.

(No, seriously, he was being a good boy playing Candy Crush on his phone as his classmates trickled in and stared at him in awe and horror. To be fair, he _did_ have 12 bazookas strapped to his back and 6 cages of monkeys behind him, but he wasn't actually going to _do anything_ with them. The bazookas only had gum in them anyways...)

\---

_"-no no, the buttons should be_ different _colors to make_ each _of them special!"_

_"But having all the buttons be the_ same _color makes them seem more uniform, which, may I remind you, is what we're designing here. A_ uniform _."_

_Listening to 2 of the 9 most important people in his life argue over_ button colors, _of all the trivial things, really shouldn't have brought Kokichi all the feeling of joy, delight, jubilation and the such that it did. But he was a young, graciously_ alive _9 year old who had no other blood walking the world but still had a_ family. _Who thought less than a year ago that he'd end up exactly like everyone else who'd shared his bloodline: in a nondescript bag, thrown into a nondescript dump, covered with a bunch of nondescript junk who'd lived a completely nondescript life left without so much as tombstone to mark his existence in the world. So sue him for being happy that 2 of the 9 most important people to him were working together so determinately to help the rest of them; his_ family _was_ bonding _and at least the vent was comfy._

_(Except immediately after he thought that, the grate he wasn't able to screw back on_ just right _gave out under him and landed him right between the 2 arguing.)_

_"K-kokichi! Where'd you come from?! Are you ok?!"_

_"Wait, were you_ spying _on us?! Kichi we went over this, the final designs have to be a_ surprise _to produce the greatest impact!"_

_"Nishishi sorry, sorry, I mean it! You were just taking_ so long _to finalize the plans that I got a little... curious is all. And I'm fine anyways, not even a scratch on my perfect skin! Such a puny fall couldn't even_ hope _to harm a great supreme leader such as myself!"_

_"Well... that's good at least. Now can you please leave, we're_ so close _to finishing, I promise Kichi!"_

_"Fine, fine, I'm going! Just know that I personally think multicolored buttons are better! Remember, they may be on uniforms, but they're still all different buttons. Kinda like how you all may be my underlings, but you're all still individual people!"_

_"Koki-"_

_"-I look forward to seeing what you come up with, bye~!"_

_(A week later, when they all received handmade white uniforms with multicolored buttons, DICE's supreme leader did_ not _cry. Though the rest of his beloved organization broke down into cheerful tears and mirthful gratitudes, Kokichi didn't shed a tear with them. He smiled, because his family would now be able to bear a similar appearance in the smiles they'd all share whenever they'd proudly donned their uniforms. As the Ultimate Supreme Leader and head of DICE, he'd work hard to protect those smiles for years to come.)_

\---

In the end, the score was 100 to 10, with Shuichi winning the game. The game had worked exactly as Kokichi planned; school was over and almost everyone had already evacuated the dorms in preparation for the incoming freshmen. It was _highly unlikely_ that any of them would meet the others again unless they actively sought each other out - which was a near impossibility in Kokichi's case. For Kokichi, it meant he could finally leave his beloved behind; going back to DICE and planning the future for his organization of 9 with the various connection he'd gained from his time at Hope's Peak Academy.

So while his classmates were spread throughout various areas of the dorms, packing their things and saying their goodbyes, Kokichi was in the driver's seat of DICE's hot pink minivan with a box of his belongings beside him and a map directing the path to the nearest hospital on the dashboard. According to his research, there was a respectable surgeon there willing to treat hanahaki for a low enough price (cheap enough to not put a dent on his savings and reasonable enough for him to not seem like an axe murderer fishing for a new victim).

Taking a breath, Kokichi sought to maximize the impact of his memories of his beloved Shumai before he'd inevitably lose them; succeeding only in forcing himself to pull over and spew out another round of petals and blood (for the _fifth time_ since he started his trip for _god's sake_ ). But he'll be _fine_. He _wants_ this surgery. He _knows_ he does. He _has_ to do what he _has **to do**_ to _move **on**_ , and he _wants to **move on**_.

(Does he _really_ , though?)

Continuing on his drive, Kokichi tried to ignore how his blood made the flowers seem just the _slightest_ bit pinker in the sunlight.

(Like anyone would love him.)

\---

_"Heyy! Shumai, I have a lil puzzle for you to solve!"_

_"E-eh? Uh, what is it?"_

_"Nishishi, I think you'll like this one! Why do all the talent labs have only one lock? And not just that, why are all the locks just standard key locks?! So unsafe, right? A genius lockpick such as myself could_ easily _break into_ any lab I want to _! It's like they're_ asking _to be vandalized!"_

_"Well, our school_ is _filled with a lot of... colorful characters; and not all of them have a good enough memory or attention span to be able to remember the code for an electronic lock, so keeping a key may be easier for them to do. Plus, most of our class time is spent in the talent labs anyways, so there isn't really much time for someone to break in and out of a lab fast enough to cause a lot of damage. And most of the school's funds are probably spent on doing repairs whenever something breaks or explodes or disintegrates or melts or disappears or-"_

_"-Yeah yeah enough of that! I get it, I get it you're smart or whatever but consider this: unused talent labs. Such as... the Ultimate Pianist's talent lab! Cus Akamatsu spends all her time playing in the Ultimate Musician's lab with our other classmates with music-based talents, there's rarely anyone in_ her _lab! Which makes it absolutely_ perfect _for destroying! Like, for example, sticking gum between_ all _the keys on her_ precious _piano and letting all those CDs just tumble_ right _out the window!"_

_"Y-you can't!"_

_"Hmm? And_ why not _?" Kokichi asked, pulling a face that would make lesser men cry for their pants to return._

_"Because while Kaede mainly practices her talent in the Ultimate Musician's talent lab, she still uses her own talent lab to work on perfecting pieces whenever she has an upcoming recital! S-so_ please _don't ruin her piano..."_

_"..."_

_"..."_

_"... Ugh,_ fine _! I won't destroy Akamatsu's talent lab. It'd be such a_ terrible _waste of my most_ valuable _gum, anyways. But! In exchange, I want to hear Shumai play!"_

_"Play? Play... what?"_

_"Play the piano, silly! Aren't you supposed to be the Ultimate Detective? Didja think I'd challenge you to a duel of something? You'd lose_ far _too quickly to bring me any amusement that way!"_

_"Why me, then?! It would make much more sense for you to want to hear Akamatsu play, she's the Ultimate Pianist after all. Surely her playing would sound leaps and bounds better than what I'd end up producing..."_

_"That's_ exactly _why I want_ Shumai _to play! If Akamatsu plays, it's be_ so boring _cus there'd be nothing to laugh at! I want to hear my beloved's playing so I can listen to you crash and_ burn _! A concert is_ so _much more fun when you can laugh at it!"_

_"... if I do it, do you_ promise _to leave Kaede's talent lab_ alone _?"_

_"Yup! I swear it on your emo hat!"_

_Shuichi sighed, "Ok then, when should I meet with you to do it?"_

_"Gasp! Are you asking me on a_ date _?! So forward! Sadly, my status as a supreme leader of_ evil _puts me_ wayy _out of your league, Shumai!"_

_"W-what?! N-no, that isn't what I was asking! Y-you know what I meant!"_

_"Nishishishi you're so easy Shumai. And to think I'd thought you'd_ finally _grown some balls! Well then, let's go do it now!"_

_"Now?!"_

_"Yup! Hurry up or else the Ultimate Pianist's lab is gonna be a gummy mess before you can even step_ foot _through the door!"_

_If Kokichi had decided in that moment to slow down and glance back at the object of his affections, he might've seen the small, lighthearted smile laced with affection creeping its way onto his beloved's face._

\---

Miles away, where Kokichi started his journey from behind brick walls laced memories corroded by time and inevitability, Shuichi paused in the middle of packing to cough up a small purple hyacinth; his mind quickly becoming overrun with questions, all going somewhere along the lines of why Kokichi would want forgiveness at that time.

\---

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Flower meanings:  
> Coral roses - friendship, love of low intensity, "you've got my attention"  
> Pink roses - appreciation, gentle affection, "please believe me"  
> Purple hyacinths - sorrow, deep sadness/regret, "forgive me"
> 
> (In case you couldn't tell, I'm not over Shuichi Saihara's eyelashes.)
> 
> [I might make some kind of epilogue or afterwards to this if it gets a lot of kudos... maybe 100 or so idk]


	2. Afterwords

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact 2: when my sister first read through this story, she told me that she _really_ wished it'd have a happier ending. so I told her that i'd write 1 if this fic got a _lot_ of kudos, to which she made me name a number and I decided on 100 or so cus I thought not a lot of people would be reading and kudosing this so that'd give me a lot of time to come up with a happier epilogue/afterwords to this. the thing is, I didn't really have as much time as I thought I would because holy cow did you guys really like this! at first my idea for this epilogue/afterwords was to just compile a bunch of snippets of Kaito's newfound life as a meme due to all of the things he did during Kokichi's game (because of course he would be 1 don't try to deny it); mainly because I wanted to try and preserve the kind of sad ambiguity of the original ending, but also because I sort of just wanted to loophole her cus it would technically count for our deal. but then I thought that "hey if Kaito's in this Shuichi should be in this too, and the original ending implies he's also ill and if Kokichi doesn't know him does that mean he'll die?" and then I couldn't get the idea of Kaito visiting Shuichi in the hospital out of my head which then spiraled into what actually happens in this chapter. and honestly? I really do think this is a suitable ending for this story, able preserve the ambiguity of the original but adds a layer of hope to it that things could be better nonetheless. though I do wish I could've put more humor into it. feel free to tell me your thoughts on how I ended this as well as point out any mistakes I may have made while typing.
> 
> Enjoy!

Contrary to popular belief, there are many different kinds of eerie silence. For example, there's the kind of eerie silence you find at 3am visiting a haunted house, the kind of eerie silence you find on a children's playground at 4am, the kind of eerie silence you find when someone requests for Kirumi to step on them, the kind of eerie silence you find when Kiibo discovers another second-hand seller of body pillows of him on E-Bay, the kind of eerie silence you find when you visit a waterpark and the slide is full of animal bones, the kind of eerie silence you find when Korekiyo's séance actually summons Angie... and then there's the kind of eerie silence you find at 1am in the grains section of your local grocery store when there's a demon in the middle of the aisle and nobody else is around. Kaito Momota, Luminary of the Stars, found himself subjected to the last kind of eerie silence; made only worse by the fact that the demon in question was really ( _1_ ) Kokichi Ouma, who hadn't been seen since their graduation from Hope's Peak Academy a year ago.

"..."

"..."

The tension was thick enough to cut through with a knife. Luckily for him, Kaito's goatee was sharpened with enough hair gel to cut through the fourth wall.

" _Ouma_?! Dude, _where have you been_?! No one's seen ya since _graduation_!"

"Hhmm? Momota wants to know where I've _been_? Nishishishi, I've been _everywhere_! And nowhere. And also _here_."

"Wh-what does that even _mean_?! Actually, I don't really want to know. J-just tell me why ya couldn't even bother to visit Shuichi all this time!"

"... _Saihara_ _?_ "

"Yeah! You've _gotta_ know by now!"

"Oh? What is it that I most _certainly_ know?"

" _Don't play dumb with me_! My sidekick's in the _hospital_ , asshole!"

"Is he _really_?"

"Of course he is! He's been there for lil over _half a year_ now! How could you _not know_?!"

"I never _said_ I didn't know that, stupid Momota."

"Aagh! But if you _knew_ , why didn't ya _visit him_?! Dunno why, but my sidekick wanted to see _you_ , Ouma!"

"... did he?"

" _Yeah_! He _did_! Well, _does_!"

"If he _really_ wanted me to visit, then why didn't he tell me _which_ hospital he's in? Or what he's even _admitted for_? Telling me that would be a _sure way_ to win over my sympathies, y'know?"

"C'mon Ouma, weren't ya supposed to be some kinda _smartass_? There's only _1_ hospital in this town! _Of course_ that's where he is! And how do ya even know he's in a hospital if ya don't know what he's in there _for_?! It was _all over the news_ when he was first admitted!"

"Was it?"

"Why _wouldn't_ it be?! It's not everyday a former Ultimate is hospitalized for a chronic case of _hanahaki_! Got so severe, my bro can't even _talk_ anymore!"

Before Kaito even got a chance to chew him out on how "uncool it was to leave a bro alone in a time of need" and how "ya should've at least sent him something", Kokichi Ouma flashed him a grin that reminded him all-too-much of their final year's game and dashed out of the aisle. By the time Kaito thought to chase him, the former Ultimate Supreme Leader was long gone from sight.

(When Kaito later mentioned his odd encounter to Shuichi, he grew silent. There was some indescribable light in Shuichi's eyes that felt something like longing when he took his whiteboard and wrote _> Do you think he'll visit?_)

\---

_The rain came down by the gallon, pouring fast and loud enough to drown out even the screams elicited by Miu's third generation sharpshooting ninja Furby. It was barely 8pm and everyone was already huddled up in the dormitory playing "rainy day games" or "how many times can you get Rantaro to paint your nails with something other than nail polish before he gets suspicious". Well, almost everyone was. Kaito Momota, Luminary of the Stars, was heading back towards the Hope's Peak Academy dormitory after staying behind after class, when he noticed an umbrella on the dorm's roof. So, obviously, he went to investigate._

_"Huh? Ouma? What're ya doin' up here? It's raining, y'know?"_

_Ouma scoffed, "Stupid Momota, of_ course _I know it's raining! I have an_ umbrella _with me,_ see _?"_

_"Well yeah I see it! It's why I came up here in the first place!"_

_"So_ why _are you asking me about it then?"_

_"Cus you could catch a cold just sittin' out in the rain like this!"_

_"But I'm_ not _sitting out in the rain, I have an umbrella!"_

_"That's not_ the point _though!"_

"Hhmm _? Care to tell me what_ is _the point then?"_

_"Th-it-the point is that we should be_ inside _right now! With everyone else!"_

_"Nishishishi, and if I don't_ want _to go inside?"_

_"... why don't you want to go inside?"_

_"I_ don't know _Momota~. Why_ don't _I want to go inside?"_

_Kaito sighed, "C'mon Ouma, how could I even_ know _the answer to that?"_

_"You'd know if you were secretly a mind reading god in disguise~!"_

_"Well, I'm not; so can ya_ please _just go inside?"_

_"Why should I?"_

_"Because... because people are gonna get worried 'bout ya if ya don't!"_

_"Oh_ really _, like_ who _?"_

_"Like, uhh, me! And_ Shuichi _, too! So come back inside with me!"_

_"Hhmm, how about no~._ Maybe _I'll just sit out here and listen to the rain for a bit longer~?"_

_"... ok then! I'll leave you alone, but! Before I go, here! Take this!" Kaito declared, tossing his schoolbag into Ouma's lap. Opening the bag, Ouma found that it was filled to the brim with origami paper cranes._

_"Momota have you misplaced your_ brain _somewhere? I'm starting to think you've completely lost it at this point..."_

_"Nah, I haven't lost anything! Except my pencil yesterday... and Shuichi's pen... and Maki Roll's eraser... and Kaede's notes - but all of that isn't important! You know the 1,000 cranes myth, yeah?"_

_"I sure do~! Cus I'm not an_ idiot _like Momota is~!"_

_"I'm not an idiot, I know it too! A-anyways, in that bag is exactly 1,000 paper cranes! I should know, I stayed behind class today to re-count them all!"_

_"Class ended 4 and a half hours ago, Momota. Are you so useless you can't even_ count _properly?"_

_"Hey! I can count! I just... messed up part way through and had to start over is all..."_

_"Nishishishi, seems like I was right~! Dumb Momota can't count~!"_

_"Ugghh, just forget that part! The thing is, staying out here can't be all that good for ya! And since you're so dead-set on staying out here anyways, I gotta at least make sure you're gonna be_ ok _out here! So, take the 1,000 cranes and make a nice, good wish! You're a smart guy, I know you'll make_ great _use of it!"_

_"If you_ really _believe these 1,000 cranes are capable of granting_ any _kind of wish, why don't you just use them yourself?"_

_"Cus then you'll be left wish-less! Besides, folding 1,000 paper cranes is_ nothing _for Kaito Momota, Luminary of the Stars, so you can keep that set! Just don't use them for evil, kay? C'ya!"_

_And with that, Kaito turned and left Ouma alone in the rain; umbrella at his side and 1,000 origami cranes in his lap._

_(Kokichi knows the "fold 1,000 paper cranes and get your wish granted" myth holds no feasible ground and would probably just leave him with a pit of disappointment if he ever really staked his hopes on such a pleasant dream; yet he still takes a breath, and hopes for a future where his beloved can carry on without him anyways.)_

\---

The act of building a relationship with someone is a precarious undertaking. At the time they first meet, 2 strangers have no assurance that they'll someday be regarded as important people to each other. They create mental depictions of each other based on their first interactions, often times also correlating those depictions to certain terms that may remind them of said person. Such a correlation was made by Shuichi Saihara in regards to Kaito Momota, Luminary of the Stars, upon their first meeting. Though most times he'd deny such a notion, when Shuichi first met him, he thought Kaito to be something of an "unmindful dunce". And now, with said "unmindful dunce" rambling on and on beside his bed, smothering all of his attempts at starting a _proper_ conversation, Shuichi found himself agreeing with his initial assessment of the spiky-haired Luminary.

"-but _why_ can't I know?!"

_> It wouldn't do you any good to know, now._

"That's not true! If I know who you're in love with, I could show 'em all the good things about ya! Once they know _all_ about how great ya are, then they'll _have_ to love ya back!"

_> It doesn't matter if they love me anymore._

"Wha-Shuichi of _course_ it does! If they love ya back, then the hanahaki will go away! Your life will be _saved_! Doesn't _that_ matter?!"

Taking a breath to rally his temper, Shuichi looked Kaito directly in the eyes and turned his whiteboard around.

_> Kaito, it won't matter because I'm getting the surgery._

(It was the closest thing to an exasperated deadpan tone Shuichi could execute without actually speaking.)

"W-wait, really?! T-that's _awesome_ bro! B-but, just the other day you were still against it... can ya tell me what changed your mind?"

_> He did._

" _He_? Who's he?"

_> Just someone who visited me yesterday. The doctors say they can get the surgery done tomorrow and I'll be ready to start recovery in a week._

"You're not kidding, right?!"

_> I'm not._

"Bro, that's amazing! I'll be there for ya when ya get out, sidekick! Looks like your adventure isn't over just yet!"

_> Yeah, it's not._

\---

_Shuichi didn't_ truly _know what it meant to love Kokichi Ouma until after the game began. There's a sort of comfort in the consistency of seeing someone you care about every single day without fail; so when their daily chats abruptly turned into wild goose chases, the former Ultimate Detective was left with a severe case of whiplash. He solved the clues laid out in puzzles provided by the little leader to get his messages through faster, to garner points faster, to_ end the game **as soon as possible** _. And yet, his efforts were in vain; because once he'd finally been able to hand in his tenth message, seeing the former Ultimate Supreme Leader in person for the first time in_ far _too many weeks, his class graduated and they all went their separate ways. People say "absence makes the heart grow fonder"; they forget to say "fondness kills without company"._

_When the door to Shuichi's hospital room opened, he expected Kaito to be the person visiting him again. The sight of_ Kokichi Ouma _in the doorway sent magenta and yellow zinnia petals cascading from his mouth and blood creeping up his throat._

_"Ah, so that idiot Kaito wasn't lying... you really_ do _have hanahaki."_

_Sputtering from the aftereffects of his fit, Shuichi grabbed the whiteboard from off his nightstand and got his stumbling hands to write a message to Kokichi for the first time in seemingly forever. It felt almost nostalgic..._

>Kokichi?

_"Yup! That's my name all right~! And all my research tells me that_ you _are Shuichi Saihara, former Ultimate Detective and fellow alumni of Hope's Peak Academy! Apparently the 2 of us were in the same class!"_

>Research? Apparently?

_"This may come as a surprise to you, Saihara, but I have_ absolutely no memory _of you from my time at Hope's Peak!"_

_It felt like the world had shattered around him; the remnants of it skewering him from all sides._

>What?! How?!

_Kokichi's face turned serious, "Do you_ really _want to know, Saihara?"_

>Yes!

_"Well, like you, I had hanahaki!_ Un _like you, however, I chose to get the surgery! I'm a supreme leader, y'know? Gotta put my organization first, even though it meant forgetting the 1 I loved the most!"_

>And that person was me?

_"Seems like it~!"_

>If you didn't remember me, then how did you find me? Why did you find me?

_"Finding you was simple, I just used Google! Knew I'd probably have fallen for someone in Hope's Peak, so I went through the old attendance records and looked up_ any name _I couldn't remember! And of all the names I couldn't remember, only_ yours _connected to a face I didn't recognize! Though, I do wish I could've_ at least _remembered those_ eyelashes _of yours... they really are_ stunning _... but not the point! I even got a lucky break by running into that_ moron _Kaito while getting groceries here~! Confirmed your whereabouts and_ everything _for me~! The_ 'why' _part is a bit more complicated though. Why I wanted to know who you were was because I was weak, to put it simply. Couldn't_ stand _the empty feeling in my chest without the memory of you, and thought at least knowing your identity would help~! Then my organization found out I used to have hanahaki and wanted to make it up to me for having to give up my love or whatever, so they created a job for you!"_

>A job?

_"With a salary and everything! They wanted to put those Ultimate Detective abilities of yours to work~!"_

>They did?

_"Mmhhm, they sure did! They_ really _wanted to help us_ 'reconnect' _or something like that."_

>What about you?

_"What_ about _me?"_

>You don't remember me. Wouldn't it be weird for you if I were to take the job and be expected to be close to you when you don't even know me anymore?

_"It_ would _be weird, but I_ really do _want to get to know you again, Saihara!"_

>You do?

_"Ye~ep! You stole my heart once upon a time, so I want to know how you were able to take such a precious thing away from me!"_

>Are you sure you wouldn't be unnerved by me? I know so much about you. During our time at Hope's Peak, I was pretty much the only person you'd really trusted with anything, Kokichi. I know you well enough to understand that no matter how hard you'd try to "reconnect" with me, the thought of not knowing for sure the true extent of what I know about you will make you try to keep me at a distance; regardless of how much you may actually want to like me.

_"..."_

>I was way too blunt there, wasn't I? Sorry...

_"Aw, why apologize? I like my men_ assertive _, thank you very much! Geez Saihara, your appeal's wearing off_ every second _now!"_

>But I was right, wasn't I?

_Silence lingered between the pair for a minute, as both of them processed the new information they'd gained on the other. Neither of them were able to see the other as being anything_ close _to the image they'd built of each other in their minds; unable to connect the person they were conversing with to what their memories and research told them they should be._

_"So boring. I guess we're no better than_ strangers _like this, right Saihara?"_

>Yeah...

_"Oh_ come on _! We can't let this_ riveting _discussion end so awkwardly! How about I give you the proposal for the job DICE prepared for you~? No matter how many times you call me out, it_ won't change the fact _that I_ want _you to take this job!"_

>Why won't it?

_"Cus_ DICE _wants you to! They'd be_ really _upset if they thought I'd given you up for them and they hadn't even been able to do anything to make it up to me! Call me selfish, but a supreme leader has to keep his subjects happy to ensure their loyalty~!"_

>I don't think you're selfish.

_"Whether I'm selfish or not doesn't really_ matter _though, does it? What_ matters _is if you're taking the job or not!"_

>I'll take it.

"Huh _?!_ _But you haven't even heard the proposal yet!"_

>It'd be no use if I heard it now, though.

_"What?"_

>Come back and ask me again a week from now. You can give me your proposal then.

_"A_ week _from now?! Why so_ long _?!"_

>Because by then, we can be true strangers again.

_"True... strangers?"_

>I'll get the surgery. I'll forget you, so a week from now we can meet again for the second/first time... we'll just be 2 strangers who know nothing of each other, besides what anyone can find out from the internet. I'll take your job offer and we can go from there.

_"... how do I_ know _you'll actually accept the job if you'll have no memory of me then?"_

>You just have to trust me.

"Trust you?"

>Please?

_"... can I ask you a question?"_

>Go ahead.

_"Who_ were _you to me?"_

>… I was your beloved Shumai.

_"Ok..._ ok _. I'll trust you. Don't let me down,_ got it _?"_

>Thank you, Kokichi.

_(Late into the night Shuichi lay awake in his bed, thinking back on his long-awaited reunion and impromptu goodbye to Kokichi, plagued by hesitation and doubt for his decision. He coughs up a bundle of blood soaked snowdrop flowers, and they take his mind away from all the "what if's" that'd been keeping him up until then. He knows what those petals mean; he made the right choice. Kokichi_ trusted _him.)_

\---

After 3 weeks had come and gone, Shuichi Saihara was discharged from the hospital. Recovered from the surgery and already progressing by leaps and bounds in his speech therapy, he was finally able to leave the concrete walls that'd kept him confined for so long. Of course, Kaito was there waiting to pick him up when he got out; ready to take him wherever he wanted to go.

"Man, word sure got around quick 'bout your surgery Shuichi! Ya had so many visitors I barely even got to see ya all that time! Sorry 'bout that..."

"A-ah, it's fine Kaito, really! M-most of them were actually potential clients trying to hire me f-for when I got released..."

"That's great, Shuichi! Good to have a couple jobs lined up for ya ready to work on, right? How many didja take? Betcha could handle taking 5 at once, _easily_! You're my sidekick after all!"

"W-well, I actually only _accepted 1_ o-of them..."

"H-huh?"

Shuichi smiled, sheepishly, "I've b-been hired to look into different research facilities around the globe that have performed dubious experiments to study the s-science behind returning the lost memories of former hanahaki p-patients. I'm supposed to go visit those facilities a-and investigate their claims of humane research techniques; and to confirm the v-validity of the research in question. My employer s-says he'd had the disease himself and opted to have the surgery, o-only to later learn his decision had only caused pain to his, a-ah, _'beloved'_. He said he wanted to hire me b-because we'd both had experience with the disease, s-so... I couldn't exactly say no; and I-I didn't really _want to_ , either..."

"..."

"... Kaito? K- _Kaito_?! Wait-no w-why are you crying?!"

"It's just, you've grown so much, I'm so proud to call you my sidekick, Shuichi! I'm gonna miss ya when you're going to do your investigatin' around the world! C'mon bro, I'll help ya pack when we get to your place!"

"T-thank you, Kaito."

"No problem, Shuichi! Helping his friends succeed is just another honor for Kaito Momota, Luminary of the Stars! Though, I would like to know who exactly would hire ya for this kinda job..."

"W-well..." Shuichi began, "He said his n-name was Kokichi Ouma; a-apparently he was in our class back at Hope's Peak Academy..."

\---

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Flower meanings:
> 
> Mixed colored zinnias: contemplation, thinking of an absent friend, "I miss you because you're gone"
> 
>   * Magenta zinnias: affection, lasting love, "you infatuate me"
>   * Yellow zinnias: reminiscing, constant remembrance, "thinking of you"
> 

> 
> Snowdrops: hope, new beginnings, "there's still tomorrow"
> 
> (I just realized the majority of Kokichi's pining for Shuichi here is just _~eYeLaSHeS sO **pREttY** ~ _and that's it.)
> 
> [Thanks for reading! <3]


End file.
